Is the current dual core Mac Mini as fast as a 09 MBP?

macrumors 6502

Just trying to figure out my best options here so help is appreciated.

I have a 2009 Macbook Pro with a 2.66 Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It is ready to be replaced.

I am considering replacing it with a Mac Mini for the short term, until the new line of MBPs come out.

But I was surprised to see that the $599 Mac Mini model has a dual core processor (i5). Is this going to give me any better performance than the Core 2 Duo I have in my current MBP? I'm not up to speed on these processors.

macrumors 6502

Just trying to figure out my best options here so help is appreciated.

I have a 2009 Macbook Pro with a 2.66 Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It is ready to be replaced.

I am considering replacing it with a Mac Mini for the short term, until the new line of MBPs come out.

But I was surprised to see that the $599 Mac Mini model has a dual core processor (i5). Is this going to give me any better performance than the Core 2 Duo I have in my current MBP? I'm not up to speed on these processors.

macrumors 65816

If one reason you want an MBP is the discrete GPU and you need the extra power because of the software you use, you may want to do some further research into the Intel HD4000 before buying a Mac Mini. It may wind up being a better use of your time and money to wait until you can upgrade to an MBP.

macrumors 6502

I have a 2009 2.0 core 2 duo with 4gb of ram and a 2012 2.5 I5 16gb or ram running side by side. I can tell you for mail, surfing and light duty stuff you can't tell any difference. If you do something processor intensive like photo shop there is a noticeable difference but I have to say the 2009 was never a problem to get the job done.

macrumors 68000

I have a 2009 2.0 core 2 duo with 4gb of ram and a 2012 2.5 I5 16gb or ram running side by side. I can tell you for mail, surfing and light duty stuff you can't tell any difference. If you do something processor intensive like photo shop there is a noticeable difference but I have to say the 2009 was never a problem to get the job done.

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You're right about the "mail, surfing and light duty stuff". My main computer is a Mac Pro 3.2GHz quad with 24GB RAM, 7200 RPM HDDs and an HD 5870 GPU. My DVR is a late 2009 Mac mini C2D 2.66GHz with 8GB RAM, a 7200 RPM WD Scorpio Black HDD and of course the good old integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.

Like jvette said, for mail, surfing and light duty stuff they feel essentially the same. Of course when working in Aperture 3, PS CS6, EyeTV or Handbrake the Mac Pro is definitely faster. Oddly enough they each beachball about the same amount when opening multiple apps or working with large data base apps while the machines are copying files to external drives.

macrumors 6502a

At the OP, how short term is "short term"? If it's only a few months, and your MBP is sufficient for your tasks, I'd just not buy the Mac Mini at all and wait until the next revision of the MBP to upgrade, which will likely feature more configurations and maybe a price drop.

Also, the entry-level Mac Mini is really a pretty bad value proposition compared to the middle-tier. For a relatively small price bump, the quad-core easily doubles the performance of the dual-core i5 mini. Of course, since you do graphics work, your programs may be GPU-accelerated and would benefit from a dedicated GPU (though the next-gen Haswell iGPUs are supposed to pack a punch). It's probably not worth buying if you're just using it as a stop-gap solution.

thread startermacrumors 6502

At the OP, how short term is "short term"? If it's only a few months, and your MBP is sufficient for your tasks, I'd just not buy the Mac Mini at all and wait until the next revision of the MBP to upgrade, which will likely feature more configurations and maybe a price drop.

Also, the entry-level Mac Mini is really a pretty bad value proposition compared to the middle-tier. For a relatively small price bump, the quad-core easily doubles the performance of the dual-core i5 mini. Of course, since you do graphics work, your programs may be GPU-accelerated and would benefit from a dedicated GPU (though the next-gen Haswell iGPUs are supposed to pack a punch). It's probably not worth buying if you're just using it as a stop-gap solution.

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Short term is basically when the new MBPs come out. And yeah, it would be a stop-gap solution.

My current (2009) MBP is out of warranty so I've been afraid that something will break or wear out and a) cost a small fortune to fix and b) leave me with nothing to sell to put toward a new MBP. I've had no troubles with it and it has been incredibly reliable, but Murphy's law and all that. So the idea was to get rid of it and get a few bucks for it while I can, stick with the Mini for a few months, then turn around and sell that.

macrumors 6502a

Short term is basically when the new MBPs come out. And yeah, it would be a stop-gap solution.

My current (2009) MBP is out of warranty so I've been afraid that something will break or wear out and a) cost a small fortune to fix and b) leave me with nothing to sell to put toward a new MBP. I've had no troubles with it and it has been incredibly reliable, but Murphy's law and all that. So the idea was to get rid of it and get a few bucks for it while I can, stick with the Mini for a few months, then turn around and sell that.

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I see; selling is a good idea as Macs have tremendous resale value. That said, I don't personally believe your model will depreciate significantly between now and when the new models come out.

Is there a specific reason you feel your system might fail soon, or just a general fear? Besides the logic board and screen, there aren't any super expensive components in a laptop that need repair and neither of those are any more prone to failure than something like RAM or a hard drive. Knock on wood, but chances are you'll be fine, and won't have to worry about then reselling the Mac Mini for a loss. The thing with most Mac resales is that the depreciation curve is like a hump; there is an immediate several hundred dollar hit on MSRP used/older model, followed by a several years of little to no depreciation, and then a huge dropoff in value after that.

Unless of course, you plan to keep the Mac Mini. Then by all means go ahead and get one, but get the quad-core, not the dual-core.

thread startermacrumors 6502

I see; selling is a good idea as Macs have tremendous resale value. That said, I don't personally believe your model will depreciate significantly between now and when the new models come out.

Is there a specific reason you feel your system might fail soon, or just a general fear? Besides the logic board and screen, there aren't any super expensive components in a laptop that need repair and neither of those are any more prone to failure than something like RAM or a hard drive. Knock on wood, but chances are you'll be fine, and won't have to worry about then reselling the Mac Mini for a loss. The thing with most Mac resales is that the depreciation curve is like a hump; there is an immediate several hundred dollar hit on MSRP used/older model, followed by a several years of little to no depreciation, and then a huge dropoff in value after that.

Unless of course, you plan to keep the Mac Mini. Then by all means go ahead and get one, but get the quad-core, not the dual-core.

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Just general fear, plus I think it will probably take a hit in value when the new ones come out as it will become another generation older.

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